Hemigaleidae Book
by KisaItas
Summary: A look at Itachi and Kisame's relationship from another perspective, using canon scenes and then moving onto scenes that could have brought about the canon scenes. Each new chapter occurs between the time period of the first chapter. Canon Compliant.
1. Chapter 1

Hemigaleidai Book – Chapter 01: Greater

HC

"Cause I hear a voice and he calls me redeemed, when others say I'll never be enough."

HC

Author's Notes: This is written for day 1 of KisaIta week, and follows a specific pattern. This is the frame of the story, beginning to end. Chapter 02 will go into more detail starting after the first chapter begins but ending before the first chapter ends, Chapter 03, 04 and 05 will focus on specific details between the frame as well. Day 1 is about the "First meeting, Goodbye" and that is what this focuses on. It is part fic, part analysis of all the canon scenes we have of Itachi and Kisame shown from a KisaIta perspective. Again, this is similar to a frame, meaning it won't follow logical order, the middle is in the next few chapters.

I highly recommend listening to the song "Greater – MercyMe" as a significant portion of this chapter is based on it. Every chapter has a song that it's titled after and has significance to that reminded me of their relationship. Some lyris are incorporated.

Finally, this won't make as much sense if you haven't read my Analysis of Kisame Hoshigaki so I highly recommend going to read that, otherwise my KisaIta characterizations might not make sense to you. However, it is not required, just highly recommended.

Make sure you've seen the Kisame x Itachi battle, there are spoilers. In fact rewatching the Itachi & Kisame scenes will help you understand this chapter better if you need a refresher.

HC

He's just a child, but that means nothing. Kisame was a child too once, and he killed then just as he will kill now. He killed his clansmen, his comrades, and it begs the question why. Kisame did it because he was ordered to, and at the highest rank he found lies upon lies until he had lost all hope in the system.

He joined Akatsuki for the promise of a new world. A world without lies perhaps, could be a world worth living in. It was a greater purpose, perhaps even one worth dying for. It was one worth fighting for at least.

So why then, did Itachi Uchiha join Akatsuki? Why did Itachi Uchiha kill his clansmen? It was loyalty that drove Kisame to request Itachi Uchiha as a partner. At the tender age of thirteen, Itachi was already a nightmare. He was far too powerful and if he killed his own clansmen, he couldn't be trusted in Akatsuki. He might kill them all too. It was hypocritical perhaps, but maybe that's why it made the most sense. Kisame had killed his own clansmen so he knew the apathy it created – and he feared that Itachi's apathy would doom Akatsuki, doom the world he wanted to create.

"From today onwards, we will be partners." Kisame said. It was best to bare his fangs now and make it clear who was commanding. "I am Kisame Hoshigaki of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. You are Itachi Uchiha – I have heard rumors about you, and how you killed your clan."

Kisame paused only for a moment, taking in the salty ocean air by the pier. The air around Itachi was pungent with the blood of his family, death hung by him fresh and sinister. Kisame felt a familiar creeping along his spine, a chakra, a power in the atmosphere that Itachi gave off, letting him know without words that he was not to be trifled with.

"I understand you." Kisame continued, because he did. He would make his intentions clear, intentions that only Itachi could understand because they held a bond already, a bond of deceit. "That's why I asked to be your partner. Killing your comrades… Such a feeling is indescribable, isn't it?"

And it was. Kisame made himself vulnerable in his attack, showing the apathy and the impact it had on him, if only so he could see Itachi's vulnerability. Itachi would give in surely, show his true colors, and they could dance around the lies they create, until Itachi's head hung at the end of Samehada.

"You talk a lot." The boy said, and suddenly Kisame was struck by how tiny the child was. His voice was cracking from the beginnings of puberty and his height left much to be desired. "You may know a lot about me, but what about you? You got lost in the mist and ended up here. You're just a thug who couldn't figure out where to go."

Kisame flinched. A strike to the heart. It was accurate, almost too much so. He was lost, he was wandering, he had no where to call home, and Akatsuki was not the answer to the world he wanted to create. It was closer, but it wasn't the answer. Kisame was shaken to the core and he responded the only way he knew how.

He pulled his blade and brought it to Itachi's shoulder. A threat. The boy responded in kind, his chakra blaring to life, surrounding them in its invisibility, it was dangerous. Kisame didn't dare kill, he could not, it would be folly. The boy wasn't bad.

"Do you want to know something interesting?" Kisame asked, reciting a tale he was often taught as a child. "Some sharks are born inside their mother's belly, but in some cases… In some cases the number of eggs that hatch don't match up with the pups. Do you know why that is? Cannibalism. Other than itself, every sibling is fodder. The fratricide begins before birth. From today onwards, you and I both belong to Akatsuki. Please be wary… Of me."

It was a tale he was often taught, a tale he lived up to. He killed his fellow schoolmates, his siblings, his parents even, in the monstrosity that was the blood mist. He knew from the first day it happened that there was no such thing as comradiereship, trust or love. Relationships were a lie, artificial at best. Lies, all of them. He would not lie, he had no reason to create false bonds. It was with truth that he divulged his intentions to Itachi, a truth he hoped Itachi could hold onto. They may be partners, but they had nothing between them, they never would. He said this clearly to contrast his life in the Mist, where he lied to his partners and killed them later. There would be no lies now – he made it clear what he would do. Yes, honesty was the way to go.

The moment the sharingan came to life, Kisame felt it in his blood, the exhilaration of battle had his heart racing, singing in joy for the familiar rush of adrenaline. Kisame wanted.

"That goes for you too." Itachi responded in kind, marking his place, refusing to be seen as weak. Good shinobi. Kisame would pat him on the head and give him a toy.

Kisame smirked at the seriousness in Itachi's tone, the child who hadn't even reached puberty yet daring to threaten him like a little puppy, yet with a power so harsh it made Kisame's body sing. Beautiful. "Well, let's have fun together." Kisame suggested, grin still there. There was no reason they couldn't do that much. Maybe this honesty thing would work out. A new path for a new life. He would go through many partners probably, and one day Itachi's head would be on his sword, he would enjoy that day very much. "And let's hope we are not the last two facing each other."

They might hope, but it's what Kisame wanted. Samehada would enjoy it, if Itachi grew into his life.

"Let me just say this…" Itachi rose from his position calmly as he spoke. "Anyone who has raised their hand against a comrade, even once, never dies a decent death. Remember that."

Really? Kisame didn't need a reminder that he was doomed, he knew it already. Perhaps it was new to Itachi what such acts bring. He was young after all. Kisame chuckled slightly as he answered. "Then I suppose you and I are both worthless." It was true. He didn't need a reminder, but Itachi seemed to need it.

"No…" Itachi was calm, his chakra controlled in a way Kisame couldn't respond to, a sage like level that shouldn't be possible. "We aren't fish, we are human."

Kisame's world fell apart.

We aren't fish, we are human.

All his life he was told he was a fish, a shark, hell he looked like one. Every analogy, every story he was taught was based off of that ideal. Kisame lived by it. He accepted it. He hated it.

Someone called him human. Someone called him human. Itachi called him human.

The surprise couldn't be held back from Kisame's face. Never had anyone acknowledged him as human. He killed. He murdered. He was a fish, a shark, a monster. Monster of the Mist.

"No matter who you are, you do not know what kind of human you are until the very end." Itachi walked past Kisame, who stood there, dumbstruck, still processing the impossible. They said sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt. Kisame had learned to live by it.

So why did these words hurt? They weren't insults, but they hurt, a pain, deep and dull, aching in his heart – something he probably didn't even have and it tugged him. Words were power, and for the first time Kisame understood it. He could feel the strings binding him with those words spoken so casually, nonchalantly, uncaringly.

"One realizes their true nature when they are dying. That's what dying is, isn't it?" Itachi's final words boomed in Kisame's mind, as he finally managed to regain composure long enough to follow, something he didn't realize he would spend his life thereafter doing.

HC

Bring your tired,

Bring your shame,

Bring your guilt,

Bring your Pain,

Don't you know that's not your name?

You will always be so much more to me.

Everyday I wrestle with the voices

That keep telling me I'm not right

But that's alright

Cause I hear a voice and he calls me redeemed

When other's say I'll never be enough

HC

"Itachi-san, don't lie to me." Kisame warned. It was a hollow warning, Kisame wouldn't dare act on it. "Even if you get your brother's eyes you will die. What is it you really want? Why don't we go spend what time we have searching for a cure? Forget Akatsuki! I would follow you – I would go anywhere for you!"

"No." Itachi answered without so much a movement, but it didn't feel Kisame who could feel the disturbed chakra signature. He knew it inside out, he knew it better than his own. Itachi was his sheath, his sage, his heart.

"Itachi!"

"We must continue for Akatsuki."

"You aren't doing this for Akatsuki."

"Do not cross that line, Kisame."

"Please-." Kisame begged. He begged. For Itachi, he did. He felt no shame.

"Kisame." Itachi spoke so softly that Kisame strained to hear, pushing every other desire out but the one to listen. "I need you to do something for me, when the time comes."

"Itachi-san…" Kisame knew he lost. He lost and he didn't breakeven. It tore him apart, pieces and nothing more.

"Tomorrow Sasuke will come." Itachi shuddered.

"Tomorrow…" Kisame could have wept. It would be the end, Kisame knew. Sasuke was always the end. "Sasuke will kill you."

"Have faith, Kisame." Itachi coughed, blood spluttered onto the bed. Kisame didn't move to help. It would be unwelcome.

He knew, he always knew, he would never be enough. He could never be equal to this invisible force, this unknown force, this thing that Itachi strove for.

"If he kills you…"

"Then he won a fair battle. If he is capable of killing me, he is capable of killing you. You will avoid him." Itachi answered with no remorse, heaving as he allowed himself to lay down. A sign of weakness to any other shinobi. Yet Itachi knew he had Kisame's complete and utter loyalty, he felt nothing showing this weakness. It was not weak – it was strength, it was trust.

"How can I just let it go?"

"You don't. You will live on and create a world with no lies." Itachi sighed.

And what could he say? He wanted a world with no lies, sure. But there was one lie he was willing to let live, did Itachi not know it?

"Itachi I-."

"If there is an afterlife." Itachi cut in. "We will meet again and travel along this road we've built together."

It was enough.

"You are my sheath, my sage."

"You are my sword, my guardian." Itachi answered with familiarity.

"My heart."

"My heart."

The sound of coughing cut through an organ Kisame doubted he ever had sharper than any knife could accomplish.

HC

"As good as you are, even you can't dodge all of these." Kisame said as if he were sure. He wasn't. It was a lost battle, Kisame knew. It wasn't even a true battle. This was his only way of accepting it. He had to fight – he had to have his say, if not with words than with fists.

They always were for words. But now words were out. If Itachi wouldn't do what was best out of his own will, Kisame would force him. Only he wouldn't and he knew it. He could if he wanted to, if he really did. But this was more a show than anything, a wounded heart hoping Itachi would do this willingly because anything else wasn't worth it.

Kisame ran forth and attacked with Samehada. The streams of water cut Itachi just before Kisame slammed his sword into the clone, which dispersed into many crows.

"I stand corrected." Kisame said, a slight air of humor about his voice. He knew all along of course, that it wouldn't work. He had too much faith in Itachi.

Their sparring and barely used strength was almost a joke. It was a dance, a dance of wills and nothing more. Itachi understood, it didn't have to be said. Kisame spoke, more to still his ever beating heart.

"I've always wanted to go head to head with you like this." It was exciting, their dance. In another life, it could have been done differently. It could have been a dance of lovers, a battle of strength and valor, of sweat and blood, the masculine musk filling the air with its pungent scent and driving them to a wilder, more primal instinct.

Samehada came out, feeling the misery of its master. Samehada who no longer saw Kisame alone as her master – Samehada who understood that the two together made one whole. She would not stand for her master breaking in half, for suicide.

"Even samehada is happy." Kisame joked, but his voice had no joy to it, his expression was pained, almost angry. He used his water bombs as Itachi retreated.

The mist had become theirs, their calming soft moments, the shroud that protected them and eased their broken souls. It was theirs, their fire, their water, their wonder, their relationship. It was their heart, their sword, their sheath, their sage, their guardian. It was their heart. It was familiar. Itachi didn't truly need the sharingan for their heart, but it added that adrenaline that coursed through Kisame's veins and reminded him he was alive. It reminded him of their dangerous dance, a dance of men, a dance of honor, a grievance of theirs to let out their aching hearts, their doubts and fears. To scream for their hurts and unspent tears.

Kisame wanted to scream.

"With your sharingan you are able to find my faint shadow from behind and attack even in this mist…" Like it had to be said. Kisame felt a queasy sensation in his belly, a pain and agony so strong he could not put it to words.

"Impressive." Kisame tried not to shake. "Is what I'd say…"

"So you saw through me and used a water clone?" Itachi asked, and Kisame nearly screamed to the skies in joy. For Itachi shared his pain, for Itachi needed to calm his nerves and speak. For Itachi was his, his heart, his sheath, his sage.

Kisame let out his best attempt at a laugh, it was what he needed to calm his aching. "It's been a long time since I've had to use this." Kisame brought Samehada against Itachi like when they first met, reminiscing about the day his life changed.

Was this a victory? Did he show his heart to Itachi? Would Itachi give in?

Itachi's mangekyo blared to life, the chakra engendering the air with a very real threat.

Kisame could have cried. His heart was stone, he was dead. For Itachi, he would lie. He would pretend to be happy, because that was his job. "I'm so happy to see you use that power." He lied. It was Itachi's final answer. He continued speaking unnecessarily, just to give himself time to accept Itachi's decision. He had no other choice after all. "Never thought you'd be serious enough to use Amaterasu. Too bad it uses too much chakra."

That last part was a hope, a glimmer, a question. Unsaid it spoke please come back to me, if I tried I could get past even Amaterasu and we could fix you and continue building our road. "Won't that dash your hopes of going against Sasuke after this?"

He wouldn't really do it. He wouldn't. He hoped he wouldn't. Could he have that much restraint? Could he let go?

Itachi's silence, his disappointment, was enough. Kisame knew Itachi was suffering. Why make it worse? The hardest thing is giving up your own happiness for another.

"Why don't we call it a day? I'm satisfied just seeing you like this." Because it means you cared, at least a little.

"I don't want to fight you like this." Itachi knew the hurt, he knew the pain.

"Look at you." Kisame was put in his place. It was second. And it was okay. "It's been a long time since I sweat this much."

"I want to fight Sasuke one on one. Do me a favor and keep everyone out of it." It was an order, a command from his sage. Kisame knew what more it was. It was a gift, a goodbye. Kisame hated goodbyes.

"Fine." Kisame agreed. How could he not? His sage asked, after all. "Still it's a little sad, parting like this, after all we've been through together."

HC

Bring your doubts,

Bring your fears,

Bring your hurt,

Bring your tears,

HC

"Itachi, it's just like you said…" Kisame thought as blood began to engulf the ball of water he was in. "At the moment of your death… Itachi, it seems, I was not so bad after all."

I would have liked to see it. A world without lies.

He saw only Itachi's face.

HC

There'll be no condemnation here,

You are holy, righteous and redeemed

Every time I fall,

There'll be those who call me

A mistake

Well that's okay

Cause I hear a voice and he calls me redeemed,

When others say I'll never be enough,

And greater is the One living inside of me,

Than he who is living in the world

HC


	2. Chapter 2

pre style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px; white-space: normal; font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Segoe UI Web Regular', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Helvetica Neue', 'BBAlpha Sans', 'S60 Sans', Arial, sans-serif; color: #444444; font-size: 15px;"Hemigaleidae Book - Chapter 02: Anywhere for Youbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /HBbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Again, just noting, this isn't meant to be a story piece. It's more of an analysis (not entirely though) and concept piece to explain the canon Kisame and Itachi dynamics. Just one take on it. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Companion song - Anywhere for you by John Martinbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /For KisaIta day 2: partnersbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /HBbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /We can rewrite the story,br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Through the pain and the heartaches, br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /There's still love for style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /HBbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Life as Itachi's partner was not what Kisame had expected. He had expected to be dealing with a child, a traitor, an annoyance that he may get some entertainment out of. Their story was simple, set in stone. A monster and another monster from opposing villages working for a terrorist organization who would inevitably kill each other, leave no impact on the world, and die as uselessly as they had lived. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Instead he received what was clearly a depressed kid. He needed to liven it up, really. Itachi made no effort to speak at all, he moved only when necessary and was unusually twitchy towards every movement. It made sense, he was surrounded by enemies after all. It was his expression though, that really killed Kisame. It was impassive and cold. It wasn't the expression of a child who enjoyed killing like many children driven to kill in Kirigakure. It was solemn and very unchildlike. It was style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Kisame tried to speak a few times, but was met with very little response, it seemed Itachi did not want to communicate too much, to create a bond or a link that would inevitably rise from close communication. That was fine with Kisame, who chuckled at the irony of their roles being reversed. Once, it was Kisame who was the lone wolf who did not speak to his comrades. He wondered briefly if that meant Itachi was going to betray and kill him. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /And so they traveled together, and in a strange way, Kisame came to understand Itachi. Itachi was after all, a child. He liked sweet things even if he tried not to show it, something Kisame found very amusing, yet he dared not tease Itachi over it, not yet. Itachi didn't eat meat, another oddity. Kisame had always eaten meat, he lived for meat, he loved it, and here was Itachi proving to be his opposite yet again. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Itachi was soft spoken and, though he did not pause for a dying cat, Kisame noticed the gaze traveling to the figure, the slightly softened expression before they continued on their way. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Itachi would let Kisame take the reigns in their battles, allow Kisame to decide how things should go ahead of time. It wasn't until one particular battle where Kisame told Itachi of the plan ahead of time and Itachi refused, that Kisame realized Itachi hadn't been giving him the reigns after all. Itachi had simply approved of Kisame's methods in the past and agreed to style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Itachi gave his plan instead. It was a better one, but Kisame refused to follow it, because he was the adult damn it. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /And Kisame ended up with a broken arm and Itachi brought out a black flame Kisame didn't even know the kid had to get them out. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"That's a pretty impressive technique." Kisame complimented begrudgingly, wondering whether Itachi would take advantage of the moment to kill him now. Was this how his days would end?br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /But Itachi did not kill him. Itachi healed him using medical ninjutsu and bandages, utterly surprising Kisame. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /From then on, Kisame would take Itachi's considerations into account before their plans, but he still insisted on the final say. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Hey Itachi?"br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Hm?"br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"What are your goals? Why did you kill your clan?" Because Kisame couldn't fathom why. Itachi wasn't the usual, not at all, an anomaly and he knew that style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"To test my capacity."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Bullshit. Kisame knew any powerful shinobi was well aware of their strengths compared to another. No one needed to kill to prove it. "What are you searching for? I don't believe you actually believe in Akatsuki."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Itachi was silent at first, before finally answering. "That flame back there... Was my mangekyo sharingan. It is rare among my family, and difficult to achieve. In order to upgrade it and receive even more power, I need the eternal mangekyo sharingan. I seek it. I seek that power."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Bullshit. Itachi's voice was hollow, it wasn't of a power craved bastard. Kisame took it in stride style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"And how to you achieve the eternal mangekyo sharingan?"br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"That is the answer I seek."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Kisame laughed. "What if the answer was in the family you killed? You think you will find it here?"br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Our leader has the rinnegan. Through him I will find my answer." Itachi stated style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Oh? Are you sure it's wise to tell a fellow Akatsuki about your plans to overthrow the leader?"br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"I have no interest in overthrowing the leader. Besides..."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Besides...?"br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"He is already aware."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Of course he was. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /HBbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Hey, would you believe me if I said,br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /We are here for a reason,br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Now this is our life,br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /This is what counts,br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /This is for style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /HBbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /It was only about a year into their partnership that Kisame truly learned what kind of person Itachi was. It was odd, he had never had this much prolonged contact with a single person since his parents, the ones he had killed. He found himself growing steadily attached to the kid, though he wouldn't have hesitated to kill Itachi, not for a moment. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /He did however, learn that Itachi wanted his personal space. Shinobi in general had personal spaces that were not to be intruded upon unless one wanted to battle, but Itachi even more so than others. Itachi would need time to himself, to brood it seemed. Kisame allowed it. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /He also confirmed Konoha's weakness as was well known among other villages. Their emphasis on teamwork and frailty. Itachi insisted they work together on every mission, it was not a jump in and do things as they come. They had to plan ahead of time. They had to, to a degree, watch each other's backs. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"You are useless to me weakened or dead." Itachi would say. "You are my partner and we are stronger if we work together."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /And Kisame couldn't doubt that it was true. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /HB br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"This enemy used plants, some of which are poisoned and can make us sick. It would be a death wish." Itachi said. "We must be absolutely careful to do everything without danger."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Of course Itachi, I know this much."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /And so they battled and things went well until it turned out there was another in their midst. An unidentifiable extra who had the biowarefare kekkai genkai. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Kisame was going to be hit. He was going to die a slow miserable death. Well fine, he would die a slow, miserable death but he would give this monster, a child, the last one standing, just as much of a painful death if he couldn't avoid the attack. He swing Samehada over his head and...br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /The impact never came. Standing with arms stretched out, his 14 year old figure tiny against Kisame's large one, was style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"...why?..." Kisame style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Because we are partners." Itachi answered, and then their enemy was gone, melting against black flames. Itachi fell, and for the first time, Kisame touched Itachi. He held Itachi's tiring body, cradling it in his armsbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"I'm taking you to safety." Kisame clarified for the panicked expression on young Itachi's style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /He felt guilt he never knew he had. No one had ever deemed him worthy to give up their life for his. No one, ever. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Why?" Itachi asked, as Kisame busied himself with trying to heal Itachi to the best of his ability, bringing bandages and trying to bleed out the infection he knew he couldn't fight. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Because we are partners." Kisame said, but it was a lie. The truth was some searing pain deep in his heart littered with guilt and something he never knew he would feel. Friendship perhaps. A bond maybe. Something connecting his heart to Itachi's. Itachi who, Kisame now realized, killed swiftly without the pain that Kisame reveled in giving his style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Itachi who, Kisame now realized like some dawning thought, never killed unless necessary. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /The truth was something style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /And that moment changed their dynamic. Kisame never tried to take the reigns again. He never tried to do anything but follow Itachi's orders and they were better for it. Itachi was almost always right. Itachi's ways were better. Kisame's were battle hardened and destructive and left him feeling awful. Itachi's were swift, to the point, and naive. They were the fire Kisame had been searching for in a frozen wasteland, the light that could guide him in the mist, away from the crimson style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"You are my sheath." Kisame said one day. "I would not hesitate to use my blade so often, and you hold me back and I do not mind it."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"You are my sword." Itachi answered almost instantly, surprising Kisame who had not been expecting a response. "You keep on track, as the heartless monster I must be."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /It was like glass shattering, a glimpse into Itachi that Kisame never thought he'd have. A moment that made him realize that there was exactly as much to Itachi as he always feared. Itachi who always suspected Itachi was acting, and here was Itachi admitting style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Itachi?" Kisame asked, now that Itachi was in a telling style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Hm?"br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Why don't you use the mangekyo more often? It could save us so much trouble."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"It's a waste of chakra, it makes me lazy." Itachi offered two explanations too style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Does it have any other effect? I saw your eyes bleed."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"It is nothing, Kisame."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"I see you using the sharingan more in battle than you use to."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Kisame?"br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"Yes?"br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"No more."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /And that was all Itachi had to say, the words were enough. Itachi held Kisame like a puppet, he was a mere pet before the style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /They enjoyed their time after they had broken their walls. They had more trust in each other, having not given up on the other even in their moments of weakness, knowing the other would not kill them. It did not mean they trusted completely, oh no. But they could enjoy moments style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /They would talk more freely about politics and philosophy. They even watched a movie, and occasionally, Kisame would leave a gift for Itachi in their hotel rooms. They always had separate rooms, but that meant little to shinobi. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Kisame wondered whether such simple bliss was allowed for a monster like him, but he did not question the one time the gods shone on him. He did however, make many stops with Itachi to get help for the illness they knew would get worse. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Every cough killed Kisame. It should have been him coughing and style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /As the years past, Kisame came to see Itachi using the sharingan almost daily. Itachi was 16 now, and had grown so much. In a sense, they had changed each other so much. They didn't know the other's secrets, but Kisame felt that Itachi knew the only Kisame that mattered, and the past was style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /He barely remembered Itachi's onyx eyes. They were red, always, and he dared not look into them. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"I feel..." Kisame said one day, "As if my life truly began now. You are my sheath but also... You are my sage. You have given me a meaning in life, a goal I had before. I would go anywhere for you." And as he said it, Kisame realized they were true words. He would leave Akatsuki for Itachi. He had one person who made life worth it, his friend, his sheath... His sage."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /"You are my sword but also... You are my guardian." Itachi answered, surprising Kisame once more. "You have protected me and been there to do what I could not. If not for you, this cause would be lost."br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /The cause of course, Itachi's eternal mangekyo sharingan. br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Kisame would make sure Itachi got it. Because nothing mattered more than Itachi's will, Itachi's style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Somewhere along the way Kisame lost sight of who he was once. He became a pet to Itachi's whim, and he was never once mistreated, Itachi always took care of him, as he attempted to do for Itachi. He followed Itachi's orders. He considered Itachi's feelings for everything, because the thought of Itachi suffering was almost physically painful even though Itachi always suffered. And he did everything possible to make sure Itachi never needed to use his mangekyo sharingan. He might not know everything, but bleeding eyes was not a good sign and he suspected - but could not prove - that Itachi was losing his style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /It was only a few wishful dreams that he could live with Itachi in this happiness style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /HBbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Heaven knows you're a dreamer,br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Don't hide it from style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /Never doubt what you're made of,br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /There's a hero in style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /I would go anywhere for style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /HBbr style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /br style="line-height: 21.2999992370605px;" /pre 


	3. Chapter 3

HB

Song - Forgiveness by Matthew West

Like most songs, I use the lyrics out of context. This song is about forgiveness and something spiritual but I am writing about secrets, not forgiveness. Also it's kinda about gay ninjas so...

It's short, there isn't much to say. Anyone who knows KisaIta knows what I am trying to get across.

HB

It's the hardest thing to give away

And the last thing on your mind today

It always goes to those that don't deserve

It's the opposite of how you feel

When the pain they caused is just too real

It takes everything you have just to say the word…

HB

"If you had used your sharingan - you could have taken that power!" Kisame argued. "You would be stronger."

"It is better such power never exist, he is dead and we can do nothing now."

Kisame was silent at first. "Is the eternal mangekyo not a similar power?"

Itachi said nothing.

"You are a dying man Itachi, what will you do with the eternal mangekyo?! What is your fixation? We could be happy if you gave up on it!"

"My goals are not your concern." Itachi said coldly, in a voice that clearly stated the topic was over.

Kisame knew better than to argue.

HB

It flies in the face of all your pride

It moves away the mad inside

It's always anger's own worst enemy

Even when the jury and the judge

Say you gotta right to hold a grudge

It's the whisper in your ear saying 'Set It Free'

HB

"Itachi I have stood by you at your worst, I have done nothing to hurt you, I have proved myself over and over... Will you not tell me what you truly desire? Let me help you. I told you before didn't I? I would go anywhere for you."

"I cannot." Itachi says, and Kisame knows better than to argue when Itachi is choking on his own blood, shaking against the bed, eyes glazing over.

HB

Show me how to love the unlovable

Show me how to reach the unreachable

Help me now to do the impossible

HB

"You are my sheath." Kisame croaks, on his knees.

"You are my sword." Itachi says through haggard breaths, his fingers fumbling with the medicine bottles.

"You are my sage."

"You are my guardian."

Kisame shakes. Can he do it? The one thing a shinobi must never do? Can he break every wall he ever built for the one truth he is never allowed?

"You are my heart." Kisame says, and knows at that moment he is broken. He will be used and destroyed by Itachi and there is nothing he can do about it.

He never expects the soft, barely above a whisper, answer he receives.

"And you mine."

This is a gift Kisame will treasure for eternity, a secret more precious than any other. Any other secret does not matter, not anymore.

HB

It'll clear the bitterness away

It can even set a prisoner free

There is no end to what it's power can do

So, let it go and be amazed

By what you see through eyes of grace

The prisoner that it really frees is you

HB

"We have nothing to gain by going to Konoha."

"It must be done."

No more needed to be said. Kisame did not ask why, because he knew the one secret that mattered.

The secret of the heart.


End file.
